Ranchi: The state budget tabled by finance minister Radha Krishana Kishore on Tuesday has proposed major layouts for rural development with schemes for road and bridge construction, employment generation and empowerment of women farmers.The budget has a proposed sum of Rs 12,346.90 crore for rural development, which is the third highest after the women, child and social security department that has been allocated Rs 22,995.69 crore and the primary and intermediate education department with a figure of Rs 16,251.43 crore.The panchayati raj department has been allotted Rs 2,283 crore in 2026–27 to strengthen panchayat institutions, upgrade panchayat secretariats and reinforce local self-governance mechanisms.Moreover, Rs 5,081.74 crore has been proposed for the rural works department. Atotal of Rs 4,100 crore has also been allocated for the construction of Abua Awas Yojna for providing houses to poor families, Rs 66 crore for the construction of Palash Mart, which markets products of “sakhi mandals” and Rs 70 crore for the empowerment of women farmers.Further, a sum of Rs 1,000 crore has been allocated under the Mukhyamantri Gram Sadak Yojna for the construction of new roads in rural areas and Rs 730 crore for Mukhyamantri Gram Setu Yojna for building bridges.Rural development, rural works and panchayati raj minister Deepika Pandey Singh described the budget as inclusive and transformative.“Through 250 schemes for women, nearly Rs 34,000 crore has been provided. Gender budgeting has been increased to 35%, reflecting our commitment to women’s empowerment,” she said. The minister added that under child budgeting, over Rs 10,000 crore, which is more thatn 10% of the outlay, has been earmarked for 132 schemes to bring tangible improvement in the lives of people living in rural Jharkhand, while strengthening local governance structures.The govt has also proposed Rs 4,884.20 crore for agriculture and allied activities for making the farmers debt-free, increasing their income and overall development of agriculture. The allocations have been made under several ongoing schemes, including seed production, soil and water conservation, solar-powered irrigation and farm mechanisation.While stating that top priority has been given to strengthening the rural economy, the finance minister said, “Many people living in rural areas are extremely poor and affected by diseases and lack of education. The govt has made provisions to uplift them in the budget.”He said around 40% of the villages did not have road connectivity, and the govt has been aiming to link them with proper communication modes.Kishore also said Jharkhand has a forest cover of 33%, and many villages are located in them. There were objections by the forest department while giving clearances for carrying out development work in these areas, he said, adding the govt has been trying to work out a method to take up development work in areas where “van pattas” have been given to villagers.
